Universal Pictures via Everett Collection
Jean M. Auel's classic novels The Clan Of The Cave Bear are set to be adapted for the small screen.
Moviemaker Ron Howard is executive producing a mini-series based on the bestsellers and Maleficent screenwriter Linda Woolverton has penned the pilot episode, which is set to debut on U.S. cable channel Lifetime next year (15).
Auel's six-book series, which has sold over 60 million copies globally, is set more than 25,000 years ago, when Neanderthals shared the planet with the first early modern humans.
The books inspired a 1986 movie, starring Daryl Hannah.

Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie deliberately included a rape metaphor in her Disney movie Maleficent.
The superstar plays the Sleeping Beauty villainess in the new movie, which topped the box office in both the U.S. and U.K. following its release last month (May14), and the family film features a disturbing scene in which the lead character has her fairy wings torn off by a childhood friend. Jolie, who launched a summit in London this week (beg09Jun14) to stop sex crimes in war zones, has now explained the wing-tearing scene is actually a metaphor for rape.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour show, Jolie says, "It was beautifully written... and there was the question... and of course it's a Disney movie... but in essence the question was asked,'What could make a woman become so dark and lose all sense of her maternity and her womanhood and her softness?' And something would have to be so violent and so aggressive. And so of course, for us, we were very conscious, the writer (Linda Woolverton) and I, that it was a metaphor for rape. And that this would be the thing that would make her lose sight of that... "It is an extreme Disney, fun version of it but at the core, it is abuse and how the abused then have a choice of either abusing others or overcoming and remaining loving, open people."

The house that Mouse built, Disney, is on a bit of a rampage when it comes to its upcoming release slate. So much so that the company's cinematic arm has announced a bevy of release dates for some of its most-anticipated upcoming films. Mondays
But it's not all new news, either: some of the movies are completing a rousing rendition of the Release Date Shuffle. The films getting new wide dates are Pirates Of The Caribbean 5, with a new release date of July 10, 2015. The hotly-anticipated, Tina Fey-fronted The Muppets 2 will roll into theaters on March 21, 2014, and the what-the-heck-is-this-movie, no-seriously-what-is-it-all-about-project from Damon Lindelof and director Brad Bird titled 1952 got a new date of December 19, 2014 — just enough time for George Clooney to get acclimated to the 3D world in which this film will be shot.
Unfortunately for those looking for a more old-school Disney film experience, they'll have to wait a little bit longer. The Little Mermaid, purported to be the next film from the Disney vaults to get a 3D re-release ala The Lion King and Finding Nemo, has been removed from the schedule. It had been slated for a September 13, 2013 release.
Check out our full breakdown of the cinematic proceedings, below: The Muppets 2Release Date: March 21, 2014Film will star Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, and Tina Fey. It will be produced by Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman, with James Bobin at the helm. Returning to scripting duties is Nick Stoller alongside Bobin.
Captain America: The Winter SoldierRelease Date: April 14, 2014The Marvel feature will be available in 3D.Film will star Chris Evans. Directed by the brothers Anthony and Joe Russo, the story will pick up where The Avengers left off: with Steve Rogers struggling to accept the modern world and his place within it.
MaleficentRelease Date: July 2, 2014 (originally: March 14, 2014).Film stars Angelina Jolie in the title role, as well supporting players Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville. It will be released in 3D and is produced by Joe Roth, directed by Robert Stromberg, and written by Linda Woolverton.Film is said to be a bit of an origin story about the Disney villainess from the 1959 animated classic, Sleeping Beauty.
Guardians of the GalaxyRelease Date: August 1, 20143D film is a Marvel feature about a futuristic team of superheroes tasked with protecting the galaxy from danger, will be voiced by a cavalcade of characters, and directed by James Gunn.
1952Release Date: December 19, 2014The highly-secretive film will star George Clooney, with direction from Brad Bird, and a script/producer in Damon Lindelof.
Pirates of the Caribbean 5Release Date: July 10, 2015Film stars Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. It will be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and written by Jeff Nathanson.
Looking forward to any of these films? Let us know in the comments!
[Photo Credit: Walt Disney]
Follow Alicia on Twitter @alicialutes
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Remember that surge of confusion and bizarre awe you felt upon watching Johnny Depp perform the futterwacken at the end of Tim Burton's Alice and Wonderland? Well, that same feeling is about to overtake you: Hollywood.com has confirmed that Disney is currently developing a sequel to the film, which will again draw from both Lewis Carroll stories Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.
Linda Woolverton, who adapted Carroll's works for Burton the first time around, has a long history of well-received screenplays for family movies: she is responsible for The Lion King, and contributed to Beauty and the Beast and Mulan. Not a bad track record, though her first stab at Alice in Wonderland did leave a bad taste in the mouths of many critics and adoring fans of the source material (and its earlier cinematic incarnations). Still, it's no mystery why Disney would return to Burton's Wonderland world for a second go: the 2010 movie grossed over a billion dollars, cementing it firmly as one of the highest-earning films of all time. It presently stands at No. 12, right between Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and The Dark Knight.
No word yet on whether Burton will return to helm the picture, nor on what stars (Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter among them) will take sequel roles. But there's no deficit of direction in which to take the movie. The first film's loose interpretation of various Carroll elements exhibits Disney's willingness to expand upon and invent new stories and adventures for the literary characters, meaning that just about anything can happen in Alice in Wonderland 2: Alice (Wasikowska) saves Underland from a rich oil tycoon who happens upon the mystical garden portal and wants to mine the magical land for its rich resources; the Mad Hatter (Depp) goes into the fashion business here in the real world, becoming a 7th Avenue smash with his line of headwear; the white rabbit's (Michael Sheen) frequent tardiness costs him his fiancee, and the rest of the gang band together to mend his broken heart. Anything is possible. Even more futterwacken.
[Photo Credit: Walt Disney Pictures]
Additional reporting by Matt Patches
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Everything about The Fighter just screams Disney. Last year’s Best Picture nominee—starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale in his most awesome performance that involves no rappelling—was gritty, biting, and focused on crack. So, the film's director David O. Russell, might seem like an unusual choice for a live-action retelling of Sleeping Beauty in the upcoming Disney film Maleficent.
Those familiar with Russell’s past work—particularly the upbeat acid-trip compiled exclusively of loose ends, I Heart Huckabees, might recognize the director’s versatility. One consistency Russell does display is casting Wahlberg, who appeared in both The Fighter and Huckabees, as well as Russell’s Three Kings, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Dirk Diggler himself ends up playing Prince Charming.
Those involved thus far include Angelina Jolie as the Witch, from whose perspective the film’s story is told, and screenwriter Linda Woolverton, a Disney legend responsible for The Lion King, Mulan, and (we’ll forgive her for this one) Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Burton himself was attached to direct originally, but his departure potentially leaves the project in Russell's hands. So, at least we won’t have to worry about another piece of our childhood turned into a paint-spattered Depp-a-thon.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
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The acclaimed filmmaker has agreed to oversee an upcoming musical theatre version of his 2010 movie, which starred Mia Wasikowska and Johnny Depp and went on to gross more than a billion dollars at the global box office.
Burton will not be directing the show but he will help design the production, while the film's screenwriter Linda Woolverton is onboard to look after the story, according to Playbill.com.